Overview
- Main Attractions: Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Thiruvalluvar Statue, Gandhi Memorial, Vivekananda Kendra
- Best Time to Visit: Late October to early March
- Local Specialty:
- Travelled By: Train, ferry
- Cost: $$
- Duration of Stay: 2 day
- Location: Tamil Nadu, India
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Summary
Kanyakumari is one of the most picturesque parts of India and being a lover of the ocean, it’s wonderful to see the three seas meet at the southernmost tip of India. Watching the sunrise over the ocean’s horizon is also quite amazing. The attractions add character to this pilgrimage town, especially the large statue of Thiruvalluvar that has become the landmark of Kanyakumari. It’s quite a trek to get here but I would recommend Kanyakumari to everyone visiting South India.
Kanyakumari: Our Experience
20th December, 2013 (Day 1)
We checked into our hotel, The Gopinivas Grand, before heading out for dinner. Being a small seaside town, most places in Kanyakumari are situated within metres of each other.
We decided to have dinner at Hotel Seaview Kanyakumari located opposite the road from our hotel. Hotel Seaview have a posh air-con restaurant catering for a multi-cuisine menu of North and South Indian favourites. We decided to try their South Indian seafood dishes that they are so well known for. Dinner was wonderful as was the ambiance and customer service at this restaurant. It’s clearly one of the best restaurants in Kanyakumari.
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After dinner, we walked along Main Road to British Bakes for some dessert. Having passed it on our way from the train station, I had spotted coconut macaroons in their shop. This cake shop makes some of the most delicious cakes, pastries and sweets in town. With our bag of coconut macaroons, we headed back to our hotel for the night.
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21st December, 2013 (Day 2)
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Located at the southernmost tip of India, Kanyakumari is the meeting point for the three seas – Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. Most people flock to Kanyakumari for one main reason – to see the sunrise and/or sunset over the ocean’s horizon. While they both provide spectacular views, it is the sunrise that is more picturesque.
This involved us getting up very early in the morning and heading to the beach to witness the sunrise. There were throngs of tourists already on the beach creating a cacophony as usual. However, as the sun rose the sky lit up in several shades of red, orange and purple creating one of the best natural panoramic views I have seen in India.
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Later that morning we stopped at one of the food stalls at the side of the road. This place was filled with rickshaw drivers and pilgrims eating Masala Dosas or Puri and Sabji that was being cooked in front of us. I ordered a plate of the Puri Sabji which was absolutely delicious although a tad bit oily. It was also fun eating off a banana leaf plate.
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The first attraction we visited was the most popular Kanyakumari temple, Kumari Amman Temple. Dedicated to the Kanya (Virgin) Goddess Kumari after whom the town is named, this temple is visited by large groups of pilgrims to worship the virgin goddess who is expected to save the world. While entrance to the main sanctum is only allowed to Hindus, we were able to see the rest of this colourful temple.
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As we walked around town, we passed several groups of pilgrims; the men were dressed in black robes while the women were wearing red saris. Kanyakumari is a pilgrimage town as most people come here to worship at the temple and take a plunge into the holy but icy waters of the three seas.
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From the temple we walked north to the Vivekananda Kendra also known as the Wandering Monk Museum. Here, we learnt a lot about the life and extensive journey of the famous Indian religious leader and philosopher, Swami Vivekananda. We spent almost an hour at this exhibition reading the several panels accompanied by wonderful terracotta drawings and photographs of Vivekananda.
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We made our way back to the seashore to the popular Kanyakumari Beach. Here there is a viewing tower which we climbed so we could get a bird’s eye view of the confluence of the three seas. The views from the top are remarkable and we spent some time just standing and admiring the power of the waves against the rocks below and the deep blue ocean surrounding us in all three directions.
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Located on the seafront is Gandhi Memorial which we visited next. This memorial is dedicated to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi and it’s the place where his ashes were kept for public homage before immersion into the sea in 1948.
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In the afternoon, we caught a ferry from the boating dock to Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Thiruvalluvar Statue.
The ferry ride was bumpy and turbulent to say the least, and several times huge waves of water splashed inside the ferry as we rocked back and forth. Thankfully it was a very short ride or I would have been sick.
Apart from the historical significance attached to these two attractions, the other main reason to visit here is for the spectacular views of the seas. I love the ocean and it was a wonderful feeling being surrounded by water on all sides while still standing on land.
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When we got back to town, it was late in the afternoon so we made our way to Hotel Triveni for lunch. They have good value South Indian thalis which we ordered for our lunch. Their vegetarian thalis are ‘all-you-can-eat’ so we filled up in anticipation of our train journey that evening.
Back at our hotel we packed up and made our way to the train station to catch our 5:20 pm train to Chennai.
Our trip to Kanyakumari had been short but sweet. It is one of the most picturesque parts of India and being a lover of the ocean, it was wonderful to see the three seas meet at the southernmost tip of India. Watching the sunrise was amazing although it would have been nice to watch the sunset as well. The attractions add character to this pilgrimage town, especially the large statue of Thiruvalluvar that has become the landmark of Kanyakumari. It’s quite a trek to get here but I would recommend Kanyakumari to everyone visiting South India.
